Burning Ambition

[Scultr]

The engines powered down as Saryn landed his beat-up starfighter, The Blokk, at The Sith Academy on Korriban. As he climbed out of the decrepit vessel, he glanced over the hull. Pits & scoring from laser fire & space debris over the decades of use, making deliveries for his father. Now, he was free. Free to pursue his own goals, to grow more powerful, & to master The Force.

Now, Saryn thought, he was taking the first step to becoming strong, to unleashing his full potential. He strode across to the academy, the red sands buffeting him with every step. He reached the ancient door. It stood indifferent to him, impassive & inscrutable. Saryn studied the door, running a hand across the intricate markings that cover its' surface. After several minutes of deep thoughts, Saryn closed his eyes and pointed his hand at the door. Slowly, the mechanisms of the door clicked & the door rose.

 

[Scultr]

Saryn stepped through the door he had just opened, his excitment growing. He found himself in a cavernous room. Huge pillars ran the legnth of the room, meeting the ceiling some 30 meters up. The room was dark, only the occasional dim light hanging from the distant ceiling. Saryn walked away from the door he had opened, it slowly rumbled back to the ground. He came to the center of this impossibly enormous room. He wasn't exactly sure what he would find here, or even would he should do. he did, however, know this: He was destined to be here. He decided to hang a left, heading towards another stone door. This one flew open at his approach.

Going through this doorway, he found himself in a library of some sort. Even Saryn, in his ignorance of The Force, could feel the power of this place. The room was almost as big as the room he had just left, bookshelves 3 meters tall stood in a row going back into the gloom. Saryn walked between these, looking over all of these shelves stuffed with books. After several minutes of looking through this library, his eyes finally settling on a thick black book. Taking it from the shelf, he peered at the cover. The black leather had intricate red symbols adorning the front cover. Walking to stand under a light, he stared at the symbols. Slowly, he deciphered what the symbols meant he opened the book & began to read, feverishly. He had never seen the strange language the book was written in, but that didn't seem to matter. He could read it. A smirk played across his face as he read, his never-ending quest for more, more power, more knowledge, was beginning to bear fruit. He sat, cross-legged, & continued reading.

 

[Scultr]

After more than a day of hungrily devouring ever piece of information from this book he now knew to be a book on Sith philosophy, he snapped the book closed. He rose quickly & put the book back in its' right ful place. The book was very useful to Saryn. It had gone on at legnth about the nature & ways of the Force. Saryn knew the Force better, & he felt this knowledge would allow him to channel & weild the Force better. Theorhetical knowledge was one thing; practical application, he knew, would be quite another. He was going to teach himself the achetypal Sith power: Force Lightning.

Saryn tuned & dashed to the exit of the library. He was in a hurry to strengthen himself. He returned to the massive main room & crossed it at a sprint. The door snapped open & Saryn ducked under it, not slowing his gait. Saryn found himself in a large hallway lined with rooms that, upon closer inspection, appeared completely empty. Saryn smiled, the Force had led him to a series of training rooms. He could feel the dark power of this area. He went into the third room on the left. The room was made entirely of gray stone, the walls, floor & even occasionally the ceiling were scarred with scorch marks & slashes from a lightsaber. Saryn walked to the middle of the room & again sat cross-legged, but this time his eyes were closed, concentrating of his body & the Force.

After several hours of stuggling with himself, he suddenly felt a tingle in & on his fingertips. In his excitement, he broke his concentration & opened his eyes to see the crackling electricty at his fingertips. The electricity arced back in on him, smarting his fingers. He shook his hand to rid himself of the sensation. Saryn then held his left hand hand out in front of him. He guided the Force yet again into & out of him. Lightning crackled all around his tattooed hand. His heart soared, he laughed at loud. It was only a matter of time before he became the most powerful Sith of all. He wasn't shooting the lightning, yet, but this could still be used in a fight. Now he would practice this newfound power.

 

[Scultr]

Saryn felt he had a basic grasp of his new power. Harnessing the power of Force Lightning was incredibly satisfying. But as he practiced his newfound ability, he grew restless. This wasn't enough. Not by a long shot. Lightning was not enough to make him a Sith. He needed his own lightsaber. He wasn't sure exactly how to go about making one, but he knew a place where he might learn. It was time to return to the library.

Back at the library, he walked through the seemingly endless rows of bookcases. He searched feverishly. Eventually, the books did come to an end, & instead there were shelves with small silver pyramids. These must be the holocrons he had read about. He picked one up. He could feel the power of the Dark Side emanating from the object as he set it on the ground, kneeling before it. Slowly, it unfolded itself, revealing a holo projector inside. Saryn stared as a hologram flickered on, showing the visage of someone Saryn didn't recognise, but could tell that this figure was extremely powerful Sith Lord. The hologram regarded him cooly, & after what seemed like several minutes the figure spoke in a raspy, gravelly voice.

"So, you want to be a Sith? You need a lightsaber." Saryn nodded slowly.

"Then I suggest you should go to the Chambers of Heresies & start making one." Saryn picked up the holocron & walked toward the Chambers, at the holocron's direction.

 

[Scultr]

As he arrived at the forge area of the Academy, Saryn couldn't help but be immpressed. The setup far surpassed even his father's at home. He went to a drawer & pulled out the neccesary electronic components and set them on the workbench. He saw the pile of casings & picked one up. Upon closer inspection, the metal was low-quality & plain. No, these wouldn't do. He threw the hunk of metal back into the drawer. & slammed it shut. His lightsaber should be better than the average Jedi's. He suddenly knew what he must do.

Saryn went to the oven & lit a fire. He worked the bellows until the flames roared with white-hot intensity. He unsheathed his sword & set it on the workbench. He took up a pick & pried out the crystal set into the pommel. This could be used as a secondary focusing crystal. He took a knife & cut through the leather braided onto the tang of the blade. Saryn turned to the oven & cast the steel into the fire. It was a shame to let such a good blade go, but the high-quality metal it was composed of would make a casing for his new lightsaber. While the metal was heating up, he took his sheath from his shoulder & cut into it, carving out a pattern shaped sort ot like a comb. He would attach it to his outside casing to improve comfort & grip on his new weapon. He checked the metal & it looked ready. He grabbed a pair of tongs in his right hand & achisel in his left. Pulling the glowing steel from the oven, Saryn threw it on the anvil & took up a hammer. Saryn clipped the sword most of the blade & started to shape the remaining metal. He formed the ridges that would help with the grip & indented the shape of the leatherso that it could be inlaid. He quenched the casing with the tongs & pulled them back out. Saryn quickly & carefully laid the leather piece he prepared into the indentation, so that the leather would fuse to the hot metal. After the casing was room temperature, he installed the components, starting with the stabilizing ring & working his way down to the power field conductor. He put the crimson crystal in, then his own crystal on top of it. Satisfied that everything was set, he snapped the casing closed.

Now, it came to the moment of truth. He pressed the button to activate the blade. The satisfying sound of the blade hissing to life. The blade glowed the most beautiful shade of dark crimson he had ever seen. His focusing crystal seemed to make the blade thicker, longer. Saryn felt like a true Sith.